Wagon-brake.



C. D. LINTON.

WAGON BRAKE.

APPLICATION IILBD DEG. N5, 1909.

Patented June 28, 1910.

2 SHEETE-BHEET 1.

0. n. LINTON.

WAGON BRAKE.

APPLICATION TILED 13130.15, 1909.

814mm toz Patented June 28, 1910.

.2 8HBETS-SHEET Z.

rnur mo; v

CURTIS D. LIN'ION, OF PAINT BANK, VIRGINIA.

WAGON-BRAKE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CURTIs D. LINTON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Paint Bank, in the county of Craig and State of Virginia,have invented a new and useful Wagon-Brake, of which the following is aspecification.

The objects of the invention are, generally, the provision in amerchantable form, of a device of the above mentioned class, which shallbe inexpensive to manufacture, facile in operation, and devoid ofcomplicated parts; specifically, the provision of brake mechanism,which, as the vehicle with which it is assembled, moves upon adown-grade toward the draft-animals, will be set automatically, thebrake mechanism being releasable, by the efforts of the draft-animals,when the vehicle is again upon a level, and the traces drawn upon.

Another object of the invention is to provide a brake operable as abovedescribed, and to provide a means whereby, at the option of the driverof the vehicle, the draft animals may be backed, without setting thebrakes.

The drawings show but one form of the invention, and it is to beunderstood that changes, properly falling within the scope of what isclaimed, may be made, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to denote corresponding partsthroughout the several figures of the drawln s.

Tn the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 shows my invention in bottom plan;Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof, parts being shown inelevation; Fig. 3 is a fragmental elevation, parts being shown insection; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the tongue and its attendantparts, parts being shown in section, the view illustrating the positionswhich the parts will assume when the draftanimals are moving forward;and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the tongue and its attendant parts,the view illustrating the positions which the parts will assume as thedraftanimals are backing; Fig. 6 is a top plan of the tongue, the partsbeing disposed as shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a detail perspectiveadapted to show the manner in which the locking device cooperates withthe slidable bar which is mounted upon the tongue; and Fig. 8 is afragmental side elevation, designed to show the positions of theflexible Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 28, 1916,,

Application filed December 15, 1909.

Serial No. 533,212.

operation of the parts of my invention,

the frame may be said to comprise a reach 3, rear hounds 4, and forwardhounds 5 with which is rigidly assembled the tongue 6.

The numeral 1 denotes the front axle and the numeral 2 the rear axle;and these elements will, for convenience, be included under the termframe.

Adjacent its point of union with the forward hounds 5, the tongue 6 isprovided with a vertical opening 7, in which is pivoted, intermediateits ends, a lever 8, the upper extremity of which serves as a pivotalmounting for a double tree 9, inclosed by a casing 10, and arranged toslide upon the upper face of the tongue 6. Slidably mounted in guides 14upon the lower face of the tongue, and in a plate 15 mounted upon theforward face of the forward axle 1, is a rod 12, having an enlargement11, adapted to be engaged by the lower end of the lever 8. The rod 12,at its forward end, is pivotally connected with the lower extremity ofan upright lever 33, which is pivoted intermediate its ends, in a bar35, slidably mounted in guides 36, upon the upper face of the tongue 6,there being in the tongue 6, an opening 34, through which the lever 33extends, and in which the said lever is adapted to slide, longitudinallyof the tongue. The rear end of the bar 35 is adapted to extend throughthe casing 10, longitudinally of the same, to protrude into the openings37 in the casing, in which the double tree 9 is disposed. The bar 35 isprovided with an opening 38, adapted to receive the finger 39 of aresilient strip 40, supported by the tongue, the immediate means wherebythe said strip is supported being, in the present instance, the casing10, to which the rear end of the strip is secured, as denoted by thenumeral 41.

Supported by the tongue 6, and immediately carried by the casing 10, isa bellcrank 42, with the upstanding arm of which is connected a flexibleelement 43, one end of which is extended to the drivers seat, and madefast thereto, or to the reins, as may be desired. The other arm of thebell-crank 42 is U shaped, as denoted by the numeral 44, to include thefinger 39, the construction being such that when the flexible element 43is drawn upon, the portion 44 of the bell crank will engage the strip40, to retract the finger 39 thereof from the opening 38 in the bar 35,so that the bar may be slid rearwardly upon the upper face of thetongue.

The rod 12 is pivotally connected, as denoted by the numeral 16, beneaththe forward axle 1, with a second rod 17 supported at its rear end, in aguide 18, mounted in th lower face of the rear axle 2.

Mounted upon the lower face of the rear hounds 4, are bearings 19, inwhich is mounted a rock shaft 20, provided with a radially extendingupper arm 21, and with a radially extending lower arm 22. A rigidconnection 24 unites the lower arm 22 with the intermediate portion of abrake beam 25 carrying shoes 26 adapted to engage the rear wheels 27 ofthe vehicle, the brake beam 25 being suspended upon the ends of a hanger28, the intermediate portion of which extends, transversely of thevehicle, along the upper face of a supporting beam. 30 which is mountedon the hounds 4, the hanger 28 being adapted to rock in bearings 29mounted upon the upper face of the supporting beam. A connection 23unites the upper arm 21 with the intermediate portion of the rod 17 andthis connection, preferably takes the form of a resilient rod, the

.. rear end of which is connected with the upper arm 21, the forwardextremity of the rod being bent as denoted by the numeral 31 at an acuteangle to the arm 21 and extended through the intermediate portion of othe rod 17. The bent portion 31 of the memthe shaft 20, the lower arm 22causing the 2 27 of the vehicle.

connection 24 to move rearwardly, drawing the pivotally suspended beam25 rearwardly, causing the shoes 26 to engage the wheels It is to benoted that the i portion 31 of the connection 23 is securely mounted inthe rod 17, and, when the rod 17 is drawn upon to set the brakes, theconnection 23, which, it should be remembered,

is resilient, will flex slightly, as the shoes 26 7 move toward thewheels 27. The connection 23 will thus act as a resilient elementtending, in the initial movement of the rod 17, to prevent a breakage ofthe parts by a sudden and violent application of the brakes;

I the resiliency of the rod, however, not being sufiicient to preventthe shoes 26 from being set snugly against the wheels, by the ulti matemovement of the rod 17. A pull upon the rod 17 to set the brake shoes 26will occur under the following conditions: When the vehicle is movingdown-hill, as the traces become slack, and the vehicle moves toward thedraft animals, the lever 33 will be tilted out of the position shown inFig. 4 of the drawings, the rod 12 moving forwardly, and setting thebrake shoes as hereinbefore described, the finger 39 being already inengagement with the bar 35 and thus preventing the said bar from havingmovement longitudinally of the tongue. When the vehicle is again uponlevel ground and the draft animals tighten the traces, the double tree 9will move forwardly, engaging the upper extremity of the lever 8, andcausing the lower extremity thereof to move rearwardly, sliding the rod12 rearwardly, and releasing the brake shoes 26.-

The lever 33 is operated to set the brakes, when the vehicle is movingdown-hill, by means of straps 45, connected with the upper extremity ofthe lever 33, andwith any suitable portions of the harnesses of thedraft animals. When the vehicle is being backed upon level ground, thisbacking will be accomplished by means of the backing chains 46 whichrise from thetip of the 1' tongue 6 to their usual points of attachmentwith the harnesses. It should be noted that when the animals are backingthe wagon, either upon a downgrade or upon level ground, theconstruction is such that the "1' members 45 will tighten before thebacking chains 46 tighten, the brakes thus being set before the backingchains 46 are operative to exercise their function. The foregoingarrangement would obviously operate satisfactorily upon a down-grade,but, otherwise, it would prove unsatisfactory, for the reason that whenit is desired to back the vehicle upon level ground, before the backingchains 46 would become taut, the member 45 would i have alreadytightened, setting the brakes and impeding the backing of the vehicle.To obviate this difficulty, the slidably mounted bar 35 and its lockingmechanism is provided.

Referring to Fig. 4 of the drawings, it will be seen that when theflexibleelement 43 is drawn upon by the driver, the bellcrank 42 will betilted, lifting the free end of the strip 40, and withdrawing the fingerc 39 thereof from the opening 38 in the bar 35. The bar 35 is thusrendered free to slide rearwardly, the lever 33 sliding rearwardly, inthe opening 34 in the tongue 6. This rearward sliding movement in thebar 35 will slacken the members 45, so that the entire rearward pull ofthe draft animals may be exerted upon the vehicle through the medium ofthe backing chains 46. The brake mechanism will therefore be renderedinoperative during the backing of the vehicle. When the bar 35 slidesrearwardly, the lower extremity of the finger 39 will bear upon theupper surface of the said bar, and slide therealong. When the backingopto move forwardly, the double-tree 9 will engage the rear end of-thebar 35, sliding the bar forwardly, so that the finger 39 may againregister in the opening 38 of the bar, thus locking the bar in itsforward position, in which position the brake will be set automaticallywhen the vehicle moves clown-hill, or when the draft animals are againbacked, unless the driver of the vehicle should elect to tilt thebell-crank 42, thus permitting the draft animals to back the vehiclewithout being interfered with by the setting of the brakes.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have devised a vehicle brakewhich will be thoroughly efiective upon a down grade, automatically toset the brakes, the construction being such that the driver of thevehicle may, when it is desired to back the vehicle upon level ground,render the braking mechanism inoperative.

Owing to the fact that the portion 31 of the connection 23 is disposedat an angle to the arm 21, by adjusting the nuts 32 upon the portion 31,it is possible to change the angle of the arm 21, thereby adjusting thespace which will normally exist bet-ween the brake shoes 26 and theperiphery of the wheels 27. Owing to the fact that the pivotalconnection 16 between the rods 12 and 17 is located in the axis ofoscillation of the front axle 1, the brake shoes 26 will be unaffectedwhen the vehicle rounds a corner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is 1. In a device of the class described, avehicle frame; a transverse shaft journaled for rotation on the frameand provided with upper and lower radial arms; a brake beam suspendedfrom the frame; a connection between the brake beam and the lower arm; arod secured to the frame for longitudinal reciprocation only; aresilient rod rigidly secured at one end to the slidable rod and at theother end pivoted to the upper arm; and means for operating the slidablerod.

2. In a device of the class described, a vehicle frame; a transverseshaft journaled for rotation on the frame and provided with upper andlower radial arms; a brake beam suspended from the frame; a connectionbetween the brake beam and the lower arm; a rod secured to the frame forlongitudinal reciprocation only; a resilient rod pivoted at one end tothe upper arm and at the other end bent at an acute angle to the upperarm and secured, adjustably, in its bent portion, to the sliding rod;and means for operating the sliding rod.

3. In a device of the class described, a vehicle frame and a tongueattached thereto; a rod jointed beneath the front axle of the frame andslidably mounted beneath the tongue and the frame and comprising aforward part and a rearward part, the rearward part being mounted forlongitudinal reciprocation only; a lever pivoted adjacent the extremityof the tongue and connected at its lower end with the forward part ofthe rod; a lever pivoted intermediate its ends in the tongue andengageable at its lower end by the forward part of the rod; adouble-tree slidably mounted upon the tongue and pivoted upon the upperend of the last-named lever; a transverse shaft rotatably mounted uponthe frame and provided with upper and lower radial arms; a brake beamsuspended from the frame; a connection between the brake beam and thelower arm; and a resilient rod secured, adjustably, at one end to therear part of the first-named rod, and at its other end pivotallyconnected with the upper arm.

4. In a device of the class described, a tongue; a rod slidably mountedbeneath the tongue; brake mechanism adapted to be set by the forwardmovement of the rod; a lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends in thetongue and engaged at its lower end by the rod; a tree pivoted upon theupper end of the lever; a bar slidably mounted upon the upper face ofthe tongue and arranged to be retracted thereon; a lever fulcrumedintermediate its ends in the bar and connected at its lower end with therod, said lever being slidable in the tongue and arranged at its upperend to receive a harness connection; and a manually operable lockingdevice supported by the tongue and arranged to engage the bar to holdthe same in advanced position.

5. In a device of the class described, a tongue; a rod slidably mountedbeneath the tongue; brake mechanism adapted to be set by the forwardmovement of the rod; a lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends in thetongue and engaged at its lower end by the rod; a bar slidably mountedupon the upper face of the tongue and arranged to be retracted thereon;a tree pivoted upon the upper end of the lever, the bar being engageableby the tree to advance the bar; a lever fulcrumed intermediate its endsin the bar and connected at its lower end with the rod, said lever beingslidable in the tongue and arranged at its upper end to receive aharness connection; and a manually operable locking device supported bythe tongue and arranged to engage the bar to hold the same in advancedposition.

6. In a device of the class described, a tongue; a rod slidably mountedbeneath the tongue; brake mechanism adapted to be set by the forwardmovement of the rod; a lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends in thetongue and engaged at its lower end by the rod; a bar slidably mountedupon the upper face of the tongue and arranged to be retracted thereon;a tree pivoted upon the upper end of the lever and arranged to engagethe bar to advance .the bar; a lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends inthe bar and connected at its lower end with the rod, the said leverbeing slidable in the tongue and arranged at its upper end to receive aharness connection; a resilient strip supported by the tongue andarranged at one end to engage the bar to hold the same in retractedposition; and a bell-crank pivotally supported by the tongue andarranged to engage the strip to break the engagement between the stripand the bar.

7. In a device of the class described, a tongue; a rod slidably mountedbeneath the tongue; a bar slidably mounted upon the tongue; a leverfulcrumed in the bar and slidable in the tongue, the lever beingoperatively connected with the rod and adapted to receive a harnessconnection; alockin device arranged to engage the bar to ho d the samein fixed position; and brake mechanism adapted to be set by the rod.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CURTIS D. LINTON.

Witnesses:

PARIS V. JONES, H. W. YODER.

